On Wednesday in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Boys’ Basketball Championship, No. 1 seeded GA will face off against the eighth seeded Abington Friends School who on Monday knocked off the Phelps School, 88-69.

In 2009, GA had earned their third straight Inter-Ac title, but for the current group of players this is the first title they’ve earned as varsity players.

“I’m glad for these guys,” said GA coach Jim Fenerty. “Watching these kids come in as young men and watching them develop over four years is what keeps me coaching.”

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Fenerty is in his 24th year as a coach at GA, 32 years overall, and has amassed 522 wins as a head coach, only the seventh boys basketball coach in Philadelphia history to reach the 500 win milestone. In his current team, players like Moore, Greg Dotson and Nick Lindner tend to get the spotlight, but Fenerty says many other players have been crucial to the success of the team.

“We have a tendency to be really close with our players and we know them as people as well as basketball players and students,” Fenerty said.

One player, who missed much of the season from an injury, did as much off the court to boost his team as many players do in starting roles. His ability to rebound off the court and remain positive helped instill in his team a never ceasing will to win.

In the third game of the season, Earl Edwards fell hard to the ground and fractured the metacarpals in his shooting hand. Edwards had never sustained an injury before as a career track athlete, and more recently a basketball star, he had the physical durability of most natural athletes of his age, able to take hard falls and pop right back up. But, this injury, he said, may have changed his career in basketball forever.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same,” Edwards said. “I never thought I’d have a future in basketball until I came to Germantown Academy, but the injury damaged my confidence in a way.”

He was forced to begin the long, arduous task of rehabilitation, a task he said was “tedious, but it helped.” Edwards’ physical therapist had him conduct finger resistance exercises, but his hand was so tender that just slapping hands with friends or teammates was painful and sleeping on it caused much discomfort.

“Coach always told me, ‘a man’s character is measured when he faces hardship,’ and so I tried to push through with a positive attitude,” Edwards said. “I wouldn’t let it stop me and I tried to contribute as much as I could.”

In his spot started Sam Lindgren, a sophomore, whom Edwards mentored to become a more confident player.

“Sam did a heck of a job stepping up, and he’s going to be a great player some day,” Edwards said.

Lindgren averaged over seven points a game and helped his team progress onto a thirteen-game win streak during the season, and ultimately clinching the Inter-Academic League title with a 10-0 record.

“Earl was always my stretching partner,” Lindgren said. “He stressed for me to be more physical and to do more on the defensive end.”

“When I’m sitting on the sideline, I’m just trying to study the game and see what I can do,” Edwards said. “Even if it’s 30 seconds, even if it’s a second, I do what can I do to contribute positively.”

GA may have lost a player on the court, but they certainly didn’t lose Edwards’ qualities as a teammate. He is known to teammates as a natural leader, and someone who, when the team struggled, managed to bring them together and helped develop their winning ways.

“Earl Edwards is my favorite player of all time,” Fenerty said.

“He never missed practice, he was always the first one in the gym, the last one there, a guy who was like a big brother to Sammy Lindgren. He was just a class individual, and that’s the kind of program we want to build, based on quality people like that.”

Teammate Greg Dotson was determined to finish the regular season strong, he said he wanted to keep the momentum going after their big win over district rival, Haverford. In that win, Edwards returned to the starting lineup for the first time in more than 15 games and was incremental to their 78-53 win.

“It was an incredible feeling. For the past few years it’s just evaded us. We came really close last year, but this year we brought it together,” Dotson said. “The five seniors on the team, we decided we have to love each other every single time we step on the floor and we did.”

To finish the regular season, GA rolled over Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and Episcopal to earn themselves the No. 1 seed and first round bye in the PAISAA tournament. Edwards, in a different roll than he’s used to, will help his team in any way he can.

“Honestly, I feel like I’m still trying to get back,” Edwards said. “I never thought I’d be in this position as a scrap player, but I got to scrap and do what ever I can in order for us to win.”